Artemis's moment of truth
by LouEthelip
Summary: Mina comes home after a date with a boy. Can Artemis tell Mina how he truly feels about her?


**Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters in this story. This story was originally written as part of a much larger tale I'm currently working on, yet I feel this part was important enough to send in as a seperate tale.**

The moment of truth

By

LouEthelip

Artemis stood outside the bathroom where he heard the sounds of water running and Mina singing. It had been so long since he had seen her so happy. In his heart he knew that last time she had been this ecstatic was when she had been in England...with Shawn.

His stomach began to knot again at the thought of the two together. Why did he have such a negative reaction at the thought when he was the one who encouraged her to seek him out in the first place? Maybe it was the pain that his realization that Mina was growing up. She was becoming a very beautiful woman both inside and out. Of course he had known how special the young girl was for the longest time. Not just because of her being a sailor scout but because of many other qualities that belonged to Mina long before he reappeared in her life. The realization that that soon she would be women hit him hard. If she ever wound up having a relationship with any boy that became serious, would she still confide in him as much as she had in the past? Would their relationship change by the inclusion of someone who she truly loved? For years he had Mina alone to himself and now that was starting to change and it scared him down to his heart.

Was he scared of the change or simply jealous that her affections and the close relationship that they shared wouldn't be just between the two of them anymore? Luna primarily took care of Serena, but also worked very closely with Ami, Rei, and Lita. He cared about the others of course but not in the same way he felt about Mina. In his heart he would always be hers, through the good times and the bad, no matter what.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the shower being turned off. His sensitive hearing could hear the towel being taken off the rack and wrapped around her body. He moved out of the way so she wouldn't accidentally step on him or his tail when she exited.

Stepping out the door he could see in Mina's eyes that she was still lost in the images of the night she had just experienced. Attempting to put on a happy face Artemis walked with her to the bedroom.

He turned away from her before the towel could be removed and allowed Mina the privacy to change into her pajamas. When he heard the chair of her dresser being pulled back Artemis knew it was safe to turn around.

Mina sat down in front of her dresser mirror to begin the nightly ritual of combing her long blonde hair before she went to bed. In its reflection, Artemis could see the smile on Mina's face. When asked all about what happened between her and Shawn, Mina regaled him with all the details that she could remember of the evening. With each tale Artemis fell into a deeper despondence. Curling himself up he buried his face.

At first he responded to her comments with an occasional "uh huh.", or "I see", while at the same time trying to keep the emotions under control. Finally he became silent knowing that if he spoke up again the tears falling from his eyes would show up in his voice.

It took several minutes before Mina noticed the silence. When she did though she turned around to see her feline friend it was not the normal, jovial, Artemis she was use to seeing. Something wasn't right and she knew it.

Leaving the seat she laid down on her bed next to her friend. Using her fingernails she softly stroking his clean white fur up and down. At first there was no reaction from her feline friend indicating that the situation was worse than she suspected. Customarily he enjoyed the feeling of being petted, and the attention that Mina would give him during those times. After all he may talk like a human, surround himself consistently with humans, and occasionally behave with very human characteristics, still like any cat being stroked in this manner was traditionally a primal pleasure.

"Artemis? Are you...all right with my wanting to see Shawn tomorrow? I guess in all the excitement I haven't done much thinking about how you feel about the situation. Are you against my seeing him?"

The questions put him at a disadvantage. While in the past he had told a white lie or two in order to protect her feelings he couldn't bring himself to saying anything bad about the boy. He looked into those caring eyes of Mina Aino and saw nothing but love and compassion for him. He was tired of fighting it. He didn't have the strength to bear under the pressure anymore. He had to tell her.  
"Mina, I am having a major problem with this. I've got nothing against Shawn personally. I know he cares for you more than anything in the world. His actions tonight are proof of that. Plus I want you to be the happiest women in the world. You deserve it more than anybody I know, even the other scouts."

Her cheeks reddened by the compliment.

"Do you know how much I love you Mina?" he added.

"I've always known that you loved me.", she admitted.

"I don't think you do. You see I've been trying to fight what I've been feeling for a long time Mina. I don't recall when I knew it. I don't know how it happened. It happened slowly, gradually, and snuck up on me so fast I never saw it coming. I tried to pretend it wasn't real but the harder I tried to ignore it the more forcefully it came back."

Lying down on her bed with one elbow propping up the upper half of her body Mina was confused by what she was hearing.

"What are you trying to tell me Artemis?"

His lips quivered for a few moments unsure of taking his final steps on this journey. Still he had gone this far and if he didn't get it out now he never would.

"Mina Aino. The fact of the matter is that I'm in love with you and have been for quite some time now."

Mina sat down on her bed in disbelief having great difficulty believing what she had just heard. It was almost more than she could have ever comprehended. She was unable to talk, to give any sort of response.

"I know what a shock this is to you. Believe me if things had not happened today I wouldn't have shared this information with you now."

"But...when?. How? I mean...", she stuttered and stammered.

The cat tried to compose himself. The girl was still bewildered but tried to look calm about the situation. Neither was very successful at their tasks.

"I can't say exactly when I knew. It isn't something that one day I wake up and said 'I'm in love with someone.' It caught me off guard just like its now done with you. It wasn't your eyes that I fell in love with first. It wasn't your hair either. It wasn't the way you walked, or talked. It wasn't your charm, grace, beauty. It wasn't anything that was physical or mental. I wound up falling in love with your whole package. I tried not to let it show. So I buried the feelings deep in my heart, tried to hide the emotions. I did it by putting on my best playful cat persona. Sometimes when we'd play I'd run away for no apparent reason. That was because my feelings for you were getting too close to the surface and I knew that a love like I was feeling could never be reciprocal."

She heard the anguish in his voice, the burden, and the hidden emotions that were now bubbling to the surface. She marveled at his being able to such a secret from her for so long. It was then that Mina was able to find her voice again.

"Why couldn't you tell me this before Artemis? Why the big secret? Do you think I wouldn't understand?"

"There were times when I wanted to but I didn't. This is a conversation I've had with myself countless times. I looked at the pros and cons of if I should tell you or not. Every time I saw a boy flirting with you at school I became jealous. I'd want to tell then but couldn't, in the last few months when I'd see a teenager even look at you I could feel the envy rising up within me. I looked for excuses to deny myself. Finally when Shawn came into town the feelings became too much to bear. I didn't expect what happened. Maybe I was so caught up in myself I couldn't think straight. Now as for the biggest question of all. Why? Why didn't I tell you before now?"

Pausing for a moment to catch his breath and self-control he looked at the young girl. His eyes showed what was in his heart for so long.

"Mina, pick me up."

Doing as instructed she picked up the white cat and let him sit on her lap. He sat in the gap between her yoga styled crossed legs. Instinctively Mina began to caress the dark fur on his right side while his left side rested comfortable against her stomach and chest. He wanted to enjoy the feeling but this was not the time.

"Tell me Mina, would you ever hold Shawn this way?"

At first she didn't understand what he meant, and then it hit her. She would have her arms wrapped around Shawn's shoulders or waist with him looking directly at her. Then Shawn would do the same things in return. She couldn't picture ever holding Artemis in such a manner.

Her arms loosened slightly allowing her faithful companion loose. Using his hind legs for support he stretched the upper part of his body so that his face could rub against hers.

"Tell me Mina, when our cheeks touches do you feel the same warmth that you feel with Shawn?"

Lifting his head up he stretched his paws out to touch each side of her face on the cheeks. Mina began to see where this was leading.

"Could I ever caress your face the way he does? Can these paws ever wipe away your tears? Yes I've done so in the past but we both know it isn't the same."

He pressed one paw into her tender hand. The one that often pleased him with the stroking of his fur.

"All I can give you is the warmth of my fur, not the warmth of a human hand with fingers that could interlock with yours and hold each other as you walked down the street."

For a moment she saw Artemis's face closing in on hers. Slowly as to not scare her, his face getting larger. He tried to show what he had in mind but found his respect for the young lady too great to do so. He simply whispered.

"Could I ever kiss you the same way Shawn can"  
The words were still difficult to pronounce. Even now he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing but at least he could stop pretending and keep part of himself secret.

"Oh Artemis. I'm so sorry. I should have known. I should have seen..." ,she apologized never having realized what she had been doing unknowingly to her friend.

The cat shook his head negatively.

"No, I worked very hard to keep this from you. For a long time it was easy to slip into 'cat mode' pretending I was nothing more than what you see. Still Mina no matter how much I wish things were different I am a cat. I was born a cat, raised a cat, live as a cat and one day will die as a cat. But even though I am in every physical way a cat I'm not a cat. I have very real human emotions. I think like a human, I feel like a hum... I...I love...like..."

At that point the words couldn't come. His tears fell from his dark eyes. It was more than he could handle. Still Mina was there to pick him back up and bring him close stroking him tenderly.

"Please, don't Mina.", he asked.

The young girl refused. After hearing such an intimate confession from his heart how could she in turn abandon him? She laid her back down on the bed bringing the feline to her chest sympathetic to his emotional well being as well.

"So would you prefer I not see Shawn tomorrow?", she asked.

His head popped up quickly in horror answering her question with conviction.

"NO! I would never ask you to do such a thing! I would never ask that of you. You've sacrificed so much already to be a sailor scout. The last thing I'd want is to deprive you of anything that would make you happy. Being with Shawn makes you happy. I know that. "

Mina smiled. Even with all he's going through he was still more concerned about her happiness than his.

"Mina, I might be more than a little difficult to deal with, especially now that you know my secret. For a long time I was also afraid that sooner or later something would snap inside me and I'd start doing things that might make you wonder if I still cared for you anymore. The truth of the matter is that it isn't because I don't love you that I'd do these things. It would be because I do love you. I love you so...much. So please accept my apologies for anything I've done that hurt you and for anything I might do in the future. I guess I'm just afraid that there may be a day when you don't need me anymore."

Her fingers continued massage over his fur, showing him without words that this new revelation had not changed their relationship. She rested her head against his to whisper.

"Artemis, I can't ever imagine a time where I wouldn't need you, past, present or future. I'm sure I haven't been the easiest person in the world to deal with. Yet you've always been there for me. You've been one of the few constants I can always believe in. It would mean a lot to me though if you liked Shawn, I'd like to have the two special men in my life to be all right with each other."

A special man in her life? Artemis had never heard Mina refer to him in such a manner before. It comforted him to know she felt that way. It helped to calm, though not erase some of the fear he had been possessing.

"However, I won't force this on you. I won't ask you to feel in a way you honestly won't at this moment.", she finally added.

The white cat heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that all his fears had been for nothing. That this disclosure hadn't made their relationship weaker. On the contrary, he understood better than he ever had before just how mature his young charge had become, in return he could have sworn seeing a deeper look of respect coming from her blue eyes than he had ever seen before as he felt his eyes start to close, ready to sleep.


End file.
